Nightmare
by LoveThatFandom
Summary: Lacey knew he hadn't wanted her to come back to the lodge this year. But she was determined to do the best she could to help him and her friends celebrate the twins. Why, then, did something so sinister seem to be lurking in the wind? And what did Josh have to do with it?
1. Trigger Warning

This story contains a depth of things that may be triggering to some individuals. Some of which include:

intense violence

depression and suicide

eating disorders

substance abuse

self harm

schizophrenia

Please read at your own risk, and if you need help, contact the suicide prevention hotline. (1 800 273 8255)

You are so loved and you matter.


	2. Breathless

**Chapter 1: Breathless**

_Lacey Cooper,_

_You have been formally invited to the annual Blackwood Pines Winter Getaway!_

_When?: January 5th-9th_

_Where?: Blackwood Pines, duh!_

_Bring your cute buns and your choice of booze for a weekend of fun and mischief! ;)_

The brunette read the invitation over again, before tossing it on the bed. Tomorrow was the big day and she was looking forward to the weekend as a nice time to relax and have fun. College had been very stressful last semester and this would be a nice way to kick off the new one. She was about to go into her fourth semester for a degree in photography, and as much as she loved it, she never realized how much work learning about her passion could actually be, with every class filled to the brim with exhausting hours of setting up shoots and tearing them down afterwards. Josh liked to joke that she lived in the studio, though she could argue the same for him.

Josh was majoring in psychology, but his biggest passion otherwise had to be film. He spent countless hours with his dad working on films and getting any little input he could into a movie. It was so incredibly adorable to watch him get so excited about a new film coming out or gushing over props and lighting. All of these things about him were many of the reasons why she had started to fall for Joshua Washington.

Nobody knew, though Beth seemed to be rather suspicious. She had caught the girl watching her and Josh interact on multiple occasions and could often feel her burning stare afterwards. But how could she tell her? The twins were two of her closest friends, and she wasn't about to tell them that she had a growing crush on their older brother. Besides, she and Josh were really good friends, and she didn't want to ruin that.

"Lacey! You better get your ass down here before we're late!"

Chris.

A small smile spread across her lips and she scooped her phone off the bedside table. Tonight, all of them were getting together for their weekly movie night. Chris said that he and Ashley would be picking her up, since she was on the way. The blond was another one of her closest friends. She, Chris, and Josh always had a very good dynamic together. Ashley was really sweet too, and she liked to subtly influence her and Chris's interactions. Both of them liked each other but wouldn't admit it.

"I'm coming!" she shouted back, pocketing her phone and starting down the stairs.

Since it was only a movie night with everyone, Lacey hadn't dressed up too much. Though deep down, she knew she put in a little bit of effort because she wanted to be seen by someone...

Her woolen sweater held a muted blue tone and was extremely soft to the touch, hugging her figure in all the right ways. And since they would be lounging around, a pair of black leggings wrapped her lower half. To top it all off, she wore the one necklace she hardly ever took off - a golden script initial necklace that Josh and the twins had given her for her eighteenth birthday.

The necklace bounced around her neck as she reached the bottom of the stairs. Chris and Ashley were both waiting by the door, wrapped up in coats and scarves.

"Hey guys. You ready for this weekend?" she asked, smiling slightly as she slipped on her black combat boots.

"Hell yeah!" Chris exclaimed, pumping a fist. "I'm ready to kick Josh's ass at that drinking game we played last year."

"He's been practicing," Ashley teased with a chuckle.

Lacey smirked, tugging her coat off the rack and slipping it on. "I might join you guys this year, show you up and make all of your practicing a waste."

"Pft, you are the biggest lightweight out of all of us," Chris said with a roll of his eyes.

"We can test that theory this weekend," she snorted, grabbing her purse and keys before leading them outside.

The cold hit her hard and she huffed, bundling herself up a little tighter and heading to Chris's car. She got in the back before anyone could say anything, forcing Ashley to sit up front with him. Sometimes, it was the small things that got everything moving.

Once they were out of her driveway, she put her feet up on the center console and pulled out her phone to keep herself occupied while they drove. Their conversation was light, mostly talking about the weekend ahead of them and what their upcoming semesters were looking like. All of them were going to be really jammed.

The Washington house was only a good twenty minutes from hers, so they got there in no time, and soon the three of them were huddled outside the front door of their colossal-sized house, waiting for someone to answer.

Bounding feet caught her attention from the other side of the door, and a shadow shuffled into view from the glass window.

"What's the password?"

That was unmistakably Josh's voice, and she couldn't help but crack a smile.

"'Josh, my love for thee is like a burning flame'," Chris tried, mimicking a British accent.

The boy's laugh echoed through the wooden door. "Nope, but good to know."

"How about 'Josh sucks for making us wait outside'," Lacey said with a smirk, though there was a truthful edge to it. She was cold.

"Ouch, Lace. Maybe I should let you stay outside for that."

More footsteps sounded and another voice joined the mix. Beth's.

"Will you just let them in?" she exclaimed, her voice being followed by the sound of a lock and then the door creaking open.

"Hey guys, hurry up and come in before you freeze to death on my brother's watch." She gave her brother a playful punch on the shoulder.

"I was just making sure they weren't strangers. Don't want this place crawling with creepers," he teased, crawling his fingers across her neck.

She squirmed and swatted him away, closing the door after all of them had entered.

"Lacey, you look cute as hell. You know you didn't have to dress up, it's just movie night," Beth pointed out, a suspicious tone seeping in.

The girl's eyes flickered over to her brother as he was giving his best friend a hug. Lacey bit her lip and shrugged casually.

"It's one of my warmest sweaters that just so happens to also look nice," she explained, crossing her arms over her chest.

By then, the other three had finished greeting each other and their attention was on the conversation.

"Oooh, who you trying to impress, Lace?" Chris teased. "What beefcake's caught your eye?"

She let out a huff, holding back a blush and trying to play as cool as possible. "Well, if you must know...there is someone I'm trying to impress. And _her_ name starts with an 'L' and she's standing in this room."

The blond scoffed, having been enthralled by the possibility of her revealing some new secret only to have it be redirected in a joking way. Josh also snorted, moving slightly closer and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Good one, you had Cochise on the edge of his seat there. But damn this sweater is soft, I'd wear it just for the hell of it too."

His hand moved across her shoulders, feeling the fabric, and she had to hold back a blush. And in one swift movement, he had reached down to pinch her side, which caused her to yelp and jerk away.

"Still ticklish as ever," he commented with a laugh, finally moving away. "Everyone else is downstairs and waiting, so let's get this party started!"

The group moved away, but Beth hung back, watching her for a moment as she tried to brush off the encounter. She could see the cogs spinning in the twin's head and she tried to hurry forward, but was stopped before she could take more than a step.

"You like my brother, don't you?" she asked, rather bluntly.

Lacey let out a small noise, but ultimately hesitated, which was her downfall. Beth's eyes widened and a broad smile spread across her lips. She quickly pulled her to the side, away from prying eyes and ears.

"How long has this been going on? Why didn't you tell me?!"

Lacey took a deep breath, shushing the other girl and taking a glance behind her. "Relax, would you? It's not that big of a deal."

"Of course it is! It's my brother and you know how good of a matchmaker I am," Beth said excitedly.

On one hand, she felt a little bit relieved that she didn't act weird about it. But at the same time, she really didn't want anyone to know if nothing was going to happen.

"You don't...care that one of your best friends likes your brother?"

"No! Why would I? I'm actually really happy for you, Lacey. And honestly, some of us have been expecting it. I mean you guys have always been so close for so long..."

She bit her lip. "Do you know if he...?"

Beth shook her head. "No, but...I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Do you want me to ask?"

"No!" Lacey blurted. "No, I don't...want him to get suspicious. I'll just...figure it out myself. Promise you won't say anything!"

The other girl laughed. "I promise, I promise. But just think, we're all going to be alone this weekend. No parents. Plenty of time for you to spend time with Josh. I mean, Mike and Emily are probably going to be banging every night so they'll be out of the way. Chris and Ash will be flirting and preoccupied. I can keep the rest of them away and give you and Josh that alone time..."

She couldn't help but playfully roll her eyes. "If it makes you feel better, then I suppose..."

"Yessss! Bring some booze, that might help your cause."

"Alright, alright. Now that you know, can we just go watch the movie? They're probably wondering why we're taking so long..."

Beth gave her a sly smirk and it only made her more nervous as to what the girl had up her sleeve for the rest of the night. "Alright, let's go."

She gave her a pat on the shoulder and the two of them headed down to the theater room, where the rest of them were waiting.

"There you are! What took you two so long?" Josh asked with a smile, lounging back in one of the movie seats, remote in hand.

"I had to run up and get my phone," Beth lied, moving away from her and plopping down in the empty seat to Josh's right, leaving the one on his left at the end open for her.

Oh, Beth was being sly. She was making it so Josh would be the only one she could talk to during the movie. That girl was too smart for her own good sometimes.

"Lace, can you get me some popcorn before you sit?" Beth asked innocently, batting her eyelashes.

Lacey couldn't help but snort, though she did oblige, moving across the room to grab two tubs of popcorn. As she moved to her seat, she passed one to the girl and then sat down. Out of the corner of her eye, after Josh had started up the movie, she saw him reach for Beth's popcorn, but she refused, telling him that she wanted it for herself. And of course, less than a minute later, a hand snaked into her bowl.

She gave him a mock astounded look, and a small grin split his lips as he shoved some of the popcorn in his mouth. Carefully, she leaned over.

"So what movie is this?" she whispered, having not been here when they chose it.

"It's a horror...called Breathless. I think you'll like it," he said, taking some more popcorn.

They hadn't watched a horror in a while. Usually they alternated between genres so everyone got their pick. Josh's favorite was horror, and she generally liked it too. Everyone always complained about how the jumpscares never got her and it made her pretty smug. Once in a while, a really unexpected jumpscare would get her, but most of the time she didn't react and Josh would often go on rants about how she broke every rule of horror movie etiquette.

The first half of the movie hadn't been all that scary. It was more of a suspense than anything and most of the jumpscares were predictable enough by the music that played beforehand. It was only when they pulled one up out of the blue with no triggers that she jumped and latched onto the closest thing to her - Josh.

She could practically feel his smirk and he leaned over to her to whisper a taunt in her ear. "Need me to protect you?"

Her instinctive reaction was to flush red, but since it was so dark he luckily couldn't see. Hopefully.

"Pft. If anything, you'll need my reflexes to protect you," she shot back, peeling her hand from his arm.

She did her best to settle back into the movie, but from then on forward, all she could think about was the boy beside her. She was so going to kill Beth the moment the two of them were alone.

Luckily, the movie was a short one. Chris ended the movie by chucking a handful of popcorn at the screen, stating the ending was a cop out and he hoped there was a second one. Beth moved to the front in the center and clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.

"So tomorrow we'll be heading up to the lodge and I just wanted to remind everyone to use the buddy system in terms of carpooling. It's a pretty long trek up there and I don't want anyone abandoned and lost until the next person comes along," she started, glancing between each of them.

Josh pushed out of his chair and moved to stand beside his sister.

"Okay, so everyone's gonna have something to bring. Each of you bring a bottle of booze. Chris and Ashley, you're in charge of board games. Jess, you're in charge of the magazines for the girls. Matt, you've got the fishing equipment for ice fishing. Mike and Emily, you're the DJs. Sam, I need you on your mom's famous cookies. And Laceyyyy," he dragged out her name, swiveling his eyes to her.

"You're gonna be helping me on movies. And guys don't forget to bring your sexiest swimsuits for the hot tub."

He shot a wink at Chris, which caused him to squirm in his seat and she had to hold back a snicker.

"Alright, now that everyone knows their jobs, it's late and we have an early morning, so shoo and get some sleep!" Beth interjected.

Mike let out a snort and got up from his seat, with Emily following suit.

"We bid you adieu," he said with a bow, causing Emily to roll her eyes before she latched onto his arm.

Sam took that opening to get up as well, and soon followed Jess and Matt. Chris and Ashley had no intention of leaving just yet, and Lacey had to help Josh with the movie selection before she headed out.

"Hannah and Ash, can you help me pack? And Chris, I'm gonna need your muscles for getting one of my suitcases out of the closet," Beth said, almost too innocently.

Behind her back, she shot Lacey a sly look.

"I suppose if you need my Guns of Awesomeness." Chris puffed up his chest as he moved from the seat.

She felt Josh slide his arm around her shoulders. "What do you say we get to that movie collection while the nerds are busy?"

Lacey shot a dirty look at Beth as she disappeared through the door with the others.

"Yeah, I suppose so. The faster we get this done, the faster I get to go back to my bed," she said with a snort.

She didn't even need Josh to lead her to the back closet where the movies were, and once she turned on the light, she started to browse the alphabetized titles. _Mean Girls_ was a definite pick, along with the _Lord of the Rings_ trilogy. They'd have to cave and pick a romance for Jess or else she would complain the entire trip. She pulled out _Love Actually _since it was one of the few romances everyone in the group could tolerate.

With her three definite choices, she crouched down to shuffle through more of the titles, and it was only when she had a sizable stack that she noticed Josh was watching her instead of helping.

"You gonna contribute?" she asked, her curious gaze sweeping over him for a moment before she turned her attention back to the movies.

"Yeah, I'll make the final cuts," he chuckled.

There was a long moment of silence before he spoke up again, this time his voice carrying a more serious edge to it.

"How have you been this semester, Lace?"

Lacey paused, sitting back on her heels and pressing her lips together. It was common knowledge that both she and Josh shared a struggle with mental illness. Most of the others offered their sympathies, but were never actually there for them. When Lacey had been in the hole, Josh was the one she could confide in. When he was in the hole, she was the one he went to. He had his sisters, of course, but he hated to make them worry. He was supposed to be the one looking after them.

"Better," she said honestly, turning slightly to look at him. "No...incidents."

His gaze traveled over her body. "Yeah you look…good. More filled out, you know?"

"Are you calling me fat?"

"No!" he said quickly, eyes widening. "I just meant that…you look healthier, I didn't...I didn't mean…."

She let out a laugh as he trailed off and shook her head. "I'm just _joshing _you."

Annoyance flashed in his browns for just a moment before he relaxed his shoulders and shook his head, letting out a breathy laugh.

"You gotta stop doing that." He smiled, shoving his hands in his pockets. "But seriously. I'm glad you're doing better."

Lacey's lips tugged into a smile and she slowly rose, nodding. "Yeah me too. What about you? Doing alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah I'm actually doing really well. Better than okay."

"Good. Cause you worried me for a while."

"Worried? Me, make _the _Lacey Cooper, worried?" He smirked.

She rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"You know it." He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down at the ground. "But Lacey… I really have to thank you. For everything you did for me. You're one of the main reasons I'm better now."

She couldn't help but melt at his words, and without thinking, she leaned over to wrap her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He immediately wrapped his arms around her waist, crushing himself against her in a breathtaking hug.

"Maybe I should do heart-to-hearts more often if it means I get hugs like these," he teased, his breath brushing across the back of her neck.

Lacey only smiled, hugging him tighter before slowly leaning away to look at his face, her arms still loosely around his neck. His brown eyes scanned every inch of her features. In that moment, her heart fluttered and she glanced down at his lips.

Footsteps approaching shook her from her daze and she jerked her head up as Beth walked into the room. Her face filled with panic at the realization of her interrupting their moment, but it was too late. Lacey already retracted her hands from his neck and placed a considerable gap between the two of them.

"I guess you can sort through the rest of the movies, if you don't mind? It's getting a bit late and I wanna get some sleep before the drive tomorrow…," she murmured, fumbling for her phone in her pocket.

She could see Beth swearing up a storm in her head.

"Yeah, I got it. Thanks, Lace," he said with a warm smile. "See you tomorrow."

With a final smile, she rushed up the stairs and past Beth to get Chris and Ashley for the ride home. Keeping her feelings from surfacing this trip would be a lot harder than she originally thought.


End file.
